The present disclosure relates to the field of furnishing and more particularly to a flexible element of adjustable stiffness for beds or seats, to a unit comprising a plurality of such flexible elements of adjustable stiffness, and to a method of adjusting the stiffness of a flexible element for beds or seats.
In order to enable the surface of a seat, a back, or a bed to be adaptable to the preferences and to the anatomy of various different users, units such as mattresses or box springs have previously been disclosed that comprise flexible elements of adjustable stiffness, e.g. in EP 1 386 564 A1, EP 1 155 643 A2, WO 2008/015235, WO 96/27312, U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,357, or DE 10 2008 050 108 A1. Typically, the stiffness of the elements therein is adjusted by applying restrictions on their mechanical deformation. To do that, the proposed mechanisms nevertheless present considerable complexity and/or size.